Doctoring Data in Ceylon

Doctoring Data in Ceylon

Evidence Based Surveillance is only way forward.

Data Massaging and Doctoring Data have come into operation in Ceylon.

Our election commission has no teeth to avoid this sinister ploy by the tricksters in temporary power.

There is ample evidence now, slowly by surely the Army is operating its own political agenda for a TINY subset of politicians.

They are willing to sacrifice their career for Ceylon Corona Covid and Crumbs (C.C.C.C.C) Company and expecting posts abroad with early retirement by passing the veteran civil servants.

But all the countries are closing their doors for these guys especially because, they are the ones who would carry the virus by plane loads.

Their dreams will come empty.

Our Health Department guys and girls would become (already it is happening behind doors) victims.

They are doctoring data without doing adequate surveillance studies.

They pick and choose where to test.

It is not a randomized sample but a political sample.

I believe every corner of the country should by sampled.

That means service sector guys, including farmers, drivers and conductors of trains and buses.

Secularizing sectors not cohorts is they way of doctoring data.

Data massaging is done by the TV or Media guys without epidemiological understanding of the basic challenge.

Charts can Cheat!

Data can hoodwink!

Specificity and sensitivity less than 90% would help data mining guys to spin and our “Spin Doctors” by holding election we can stop the spread of the disease.

Our public servants taking part in the election process will end up becoming Corona Careers.

Conona Virus will hoodwink statistics and would bypass the selective numbers.

In my assessment every positive data there are 10 to 20 hidden or Sacrificed DATA and Data Points.

We are playing with fire.

Early Election will add fuels to the fire.

The Election Commission should not hide behind statutory requirements but act with Common Sense and Gut Feelings.

How come three bothers of the Local Mafia Clan is spearheading the economic wind mills, just like “Helping Hambantota Scam” but by a wider margin.

Events in Evolution

Events in Evolution
In its 4.6 billion years circling the sun, the Earth has harbored an increasing diversity of life forms:

• for the last 3.6 billion years, simple cells (prokaryotes);
• for the last 3.4 billion years, cyanobacteria performing photosynthesis;
• for the last 2 billion years, complex cells (eukaryotes);
• for the last 1 billion years, multicellular life;
• for the last 600 million years, simple animals;
• for the last 550 million years, bilaterians, animals with a front and a back; 
  
  
• for the last 500 million years, fish and proto-amphibians; 
  
  
• for the last 475 million years, land plants;
• for the last 400 million years, insects and seeds; 
  
  
• for the last 360 million years, amphibians;
   
• for the last 300 million years, reptiles; 
  
  
• for the last 200 million years, mammals; 
   
• for the last 150 million years, birds;
• for the last 130 million years, flowers; 
  
  
• for the last 60 million years, the primates, 
  
  
• for the last 20 million years, the family Hominidae (great apes);
• 
  
  for the last 2.5 million years, the genus Homo (human predecessors);
• 
  for the last 200,000 years, anatomically modern humans.
  

Periodic extinctions have temporarily reduced diversity, eliminating:

• 2.4 billion years ago, many obligate anaerobes, in the oxygen catastrophe; 
  
  
• 252 million years ago, the trilobites, in the Permian–Triassic extinction event; 
  
  
• 66 million years ago, the pterosaurs and nonavian dinosaurs, in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
  

Dates are approximate.

Palm Trees

Palm Trees
Torrential rains and inclement weather spared me some plant watching activity. 
This time of course palm variety. 
Looking outside from an advantage, a bird's eye view, I could see only one coconut tree about ten feet tall and probably of the same age with no signs of flowering. 
Looking down the precipice a few out of the twenty odd palm trees that survived the dry spell has sprung into activity. 
After a year long vigil and watering (when I had time) their survival was a bit of a miracle. 
The soil not conducive and the water logging not possible (due to the incline) their survival may have been contributed by my vigil, perhaps. 
Palms unlike the coconut (which loves the salty soil) are plants that love hot humid and muddy conditions, which support their roots with fungal symbiosis. 
The torrential rain was the most conducive and for nearly a decade we did not have similar weather conditions. 

I have tried all varieties including arecanut with no success over ten year period so my mind wondered the last time there was a spill over at Victoria Dam. 
Incidentally this was after the elections and the change over from the previous regime to the present. 
The saying prevalent at that time was “to wash the sins of the previous regime”. 
This time whose sins I would not wonder or ponder!

Coming back to palm trees there are over 1000 ornamental varieties and they are very expensive and home delivered for the wealthy in United States. 

In Sri-Lanka context, the “Cap Rukha”, the gifted plant is vandalized by the rich developers. Very soon they will be exported to US polythene wrapped. This is quite an irony. 
I am not sure where the coconut, the arecanut and the Kithul tree's position in the merit order on the1000 palm trees of the gardener's guide to tropical trees.
 
I guess the Americans who are likely to be categorized very tall in the merit list of democracy do not like tall trees in their neighborhood. 

Also their democratic nuts are not as hard as a coconut and they do not like the impact of coconut falling on their heads. 
This is why the oil industry in America had a vicious campaign against coconut oil for nearly fifty years.  
The real reason though is that they have lost their evolutionary talent like that of the monkeys in climbing trees and swinging from one tree to another. 
Going from country to country and looking for ecological trouble spots is only a pastime.

This is where our politicians who have a coconut size head and arecanut (some of them peanut sized- the American variety) sized brains should explore the possibility of exporting the coconut trees to America. 

The justification is that when the next tsunami hits our shores they can re-export them back as aid for the Sri-Lankans (tourists included) to climb and save their lives. 
The coconut trunks well preserved would be a new form of life support system developed in America. 
Few of the tourists of course saved their life hanging on to them a year ago. They could share the experience with the few tree climbers left in this country. We can promote this as a new millennium sport. 
Since most of the tree climbers (party climbers) have joined the parliament over the past half a century they can act as trainers and referees in this sport of tree climbing.

One a lighter note and in a scientific sense the real reason for declining interest in coconut, arecanut and Kithul tree is that all three of them are labour intensive like the tea industry. 
Only way to revive these flagging industries is to promote selective breeding of high yielding variety with short trunks so that harvesting is not labour intensive. 
For some unknown genetic reasons the short plants and animals have the ability to withstand adverse environmental conditions and it is not a challenge to go for such a variety. One of the reasons that the tall trees and dinosaurs disappeared from this planet is their enormous size.  They could not withstand the adversity. 

One area we are far behind is the palm oil industry and our Asian giant in hibernation, Malaysia, pioneered the research in this. 
They have gone for palm oils even destroying their rain forest. We have to learn a lot from them. Biodiesel is going to be an area we should explore instead of drilling for gas /oil in limited resources offshore. 
For me looking down the plane and seeing the coconut trees spanning the landing site is a fascinating scene. 
Sadly this scenery is not going to be there in another ten years. 
The developers are eying every peace of land to plunder. 

In the process they are developing social and economic disasters in the so-called palaces they are building. The coconut triangle is going to be zigzag in no time. 
We have so many ministers and ministries in this country a Palm Ministry would not be a burden to the country. In any case some of the parliamentarians are coming from that back ground both in oiling the palms (heads included) and climbing the trees and this is a one sure way to climb the political hierarchy.
 
For the super market chains and range for this Christmas should include the imported artificial palm trees from India, which do not need any watering, plant care or plant watching. 
For a change we could have Santa on a palm tree. 
How about that?


21st December 2005

Lemons

Lemons
The lemon flower is very beautiful but nobody seems to take any notice of it because of its thorns. 
But come to roses people are fascinated by the flower in spite of the many thorns. 
To me lemon is one of the most neglected trees of our soil. 
It loves the tropical sunny weather and grows very slowly and we have many neglected varieties in our country. 
Unfortunately, we only love oranges that are also the imported varieties.  
It is said we love anything foreign including bird's flu.  
 
History
The versatility of lemon has been recognized since its discovery in India more than 4,000 years ago. Egyptians painted lemons on tomb walls. 
In the late 1700s, the British navy made lemons part of sailors' rations to combat scurvy. 
In the 1850s, a scurvy epidemic during California's Gold Rush created a demand for lemons and soon it became a household plant in the state. 
Today, California's arid, coastal climate makes it one of the world's leading lemon producers.
Several countries pay homage to the fruit with lemon festivals, as does Menton, France, a small town on the French Riviera where lemons grow year round. During the Fete du Citron, a two-week celebration held every February, townspeople create murals, sculptures, and parade floats from lemons.
The lemon tree is one of the oldest cultivated fruit and today lemon trees grow all over the world and like pepper and spices all good things originate in the tropics.
The citrus smell of a lemon is refreshing and invigorating. 
For many people a lemon smell has come to symbolize cleanliness. Most major cleaners on the market today have a lemon or a citrus scented version for consumers to enjoy. 
But in this country the lemon is conveniently forgotten for artificial scents are abundant and imported for a princely sum.
Though the fruit has a sour taste the lemon is actually a mild buffer that can reduce hyperacidity in the stomach. 
Lemon juice and peels have an antiseptic effect and the leaves are used as a skin and hair treatment. Lemons are rich in vitamin C and strengthen natural healing power. 
By acting as an antioxidant lemon protects the cells from free radical damage.
Cleaning kitchen Utensils
Lemon juice is ideal to clean pots and pans. 
Copper utensils can benefit from a lemon juice cleaning.
Worktops
Worktop stains can be removed by allowing lemon juice to sit on the stain for a few minutes. Scrub the area with baking soda and watch the stains disappear. But don't leave the lemon juice sitting for too long it can easily overshoot the intended activity.
Drains
Hot water with a little lemon juice poured down a drain will also freshen the drain.
Bleaching
Lemon juice acts as a natural bleaching agent. 
Put lemon juice onto white linens and clothing and allow them to dry in the sun. 
Stains will be bleached away.
Add to Vinegar
Vinegar can be a great cleaning ingredient, but many people dislike the vinegar smell. Adding lemon juice to vinegar when cleaning can help neutralize the vinegar smell.
Common sense
Lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda are the commonest ingredients (naturally occurring cleansing products) in one's own home but often the most neglected in their use except in cooking and flavouring. The lack of common sense has made us to neglect them. Most importantly none of these products is poisonous (cooking ingredients) and lack of understanding of chemistry and biochemistry is the main reason. What our students learn in the class in science (chemistry to be precise) is open to question without common sense practicality.
Forgetting the Roots
Forgetting our roots and losing common sense is a manifestation of the modern age. 
This is true in my home too. Only when everybody was on holiday in India our pantry had a lemon treatment.
Glancing through the web pages, I have noticed the Westerners have missed an important link of this marvelous fruit has to the miracle drink, the alcohol. 
We Sri-Lankan use it as an antidote for the excess consumption of alcohol. 
The citrate salt of alcohol that is formed in the stomach retards the absorption of alcohol. So our housewives are adept at using this lemon treatment when looking after their inebriated living souls. 
This is something probably the BBC missed in its recent broadcast.
24th of February 2006
Edited on the 26th of April

Lemon Treatment
I have not heard
Any lover saying to
To a lover
My lemon
But of course
Sweet heart

But when the sweetness
Takes a ride
And the bitterness
Take it ascends
I have heard loving souls
Calling each other
"You pumpkins"
Or Potatoes
Years later

But in general
To be successful
In life with endurance
The culinary skills
In the home front
Is not the special ingredient?

The lemon treatment
Is not the extraordinary ingredient?
For the inebriated
Soul mate
For
Bringing back
The reality
Both
The sweetness
The bitterness
And the life in general

26th of April 2006

Food Handling, Food, Quality of Food (Nutritional Value)

Food Handling, Food, Quality of Food (Nutritional Value)

Food Handling

Nobody practices proper food handling in this country.

The number of PHII are not enough to cover the country and most of them takes bribes, especially under Chinthanaya regime. 

 
When police is involved in murder and crime cover up this has become a done thing and decades of retraining is necessary.

There is no facility for hand washing in most of the eating houses except in five star hotels.

I once treated a guy with GIT problems and he was handling food in a leading market chain.

I new the manager of the local shop and got him out of the food chain for the greater good of the public and the shop itself.

This was many moons ago.

Now in hospitals including private sector doctors do not practice basic hand washing technique.

Food Quality

With the price of food items going up, the quality of junk food has gone down from wade, to patty to bread.

The hopper which was three rupees 1n 2005 is now ten rupees.

The wade has become smaller and more expensive.

The type of dhal (not Mysoor) is inferior. The taste is horrible, the oil used is not coconut oil but some substitute.

My discovery of egg patty is relevant here. 
 

I used to give an egg patty to my young dog.

Then there was a full egg.

It become half an egg.

Then quarter of an egg.

The one I fed my dog today was less than a quarter.

In a dinner bun with fish there was a full ring of onion a week ago and with onion going up in prices it was only a quarter of a ring.

I eat the onion ring before I feed my dog the portion of fish since one should not feed a dog with onions.

He is my food taster par excellence. 
 

He refuses to eat the bread portion which I throw into the bin.

My dog only eat the fish portion which is 40 rupees a piece.

I eat the quarter of an onion ring.

The rest of the dinner bun lands on the dustbin.

Rupees 20 down the garbage and even the stray dog won't eat.

Food

So the average man (woman especially the pregnant excluded) eat lot of chillies and liberal intake of Kassippu.

That is why the Kassippu Mudalalie or the Pradashiya Sabha member is very plump when seen on TV.

He drinks imported whiskey not Kassupu like some of our national paper editors.

That is why down to earth (except Ravaya) reporting was not seen under Chinthanaya regime (they were eating hoppers for rupees 200 -two hundred at Hilton, probably- for ten years except racial hatred.

1. Personal Experience

Mind you I used to go to Elephant House Fountain Cafe (see the reproduction below) for regular ice cream with jaggary sauce on working days and full board liqueur when off duty with a full bird (not a lady but chicken).

This was the time in Colombo when dogs' and cats' food were substituted for chicken down Dehiwala and Ratmalana after the first drink (when the customer is half drunk).

This practice was going on even in Kandy when we (including late Dr. Godamunne) got activated to save the stray dogs.

I do not eat rice (not rice products like, Hoppers, rice noodles) for the last three years due to putative food allergy to some chemical contamination!

 

I celebrated 10 years without rice alone due to coronavirus pandemic.

My gut feeling is, it is probably glyphosate.

Suffice is to say my personal suffering over three years immediately stopped when I stopped eating rice.

The added benefit was I eat all the junk food now (except chocolates) and my comment here is related mostly to junk food.

In spite of eating junk food, I have not put on weight.

The corollary is that if you stop eating rice, you start losing weight without any exercise regime.

Chemical Name: Ammonium Salt of Glyphosate 71% S.G.

Glyphos is a broad-spectrum, systemic herbicide, with contact action translocated and non-residual. Absorbed by the foliage, with rapid translocation throughout the plant. Inactivated on contact with soil.
Inhibition of lycopene cyclase.

Glyphos controls a wide range of annual and perennial grasses and broad leaved weeds by application as pre-emergence, post emergence and pre-harvest in cereals, tea and oil seeds.

Also used as industrial weed control and aquatic herbicide.

Dose: 100 gm per spray pump of 15 ltr water
Mode of Action:
"Effective against Annual, Perennial and broad Leaf / Grassy weeds.
"Gyprom is a broad spectrum, Non-Systemic, Post Emergence herbicides.
"Eisily Biodegradeble & non volatile in nature.
"It is used in plantation crop like Tea, Coffee, Coconut, Rubber, Graps, Mango etc crops.
Packing: 100 gm pouch in 8 kg Box.


Reproductions
 

2. Food Poisoning

At least 20 people fell ill, after a five-star hotel dinner on Friday night to celebrate the 87th birthday of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, officials said yesterday.

They said the affected invitees were rushed to private hospitals and 15 of them were in intensive care.

The dinner organized by the Sri Lanka United Kingdom Society took place at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel with some 400 guests in attendance.

3. Quality of Food

Fountain Café was famous for short eats - rolls, cutlets and patties – and of course their sauce, which was something else. No sauce today can match it. The Elephant House hot dog served with that sauce was much sought after and a favourite of many.

Their rice and curry was also very reasonable.

There was no proper rice and curry like in the old days. No gravy; no dhal; but some dry chicken, rice and curry were what the young waiter served. I tried. The food was terrible. Then came my next order; iced tea – a tea full of sugar. It was really a sugar tea. I looked around to see if any of those old waiters from Elephant House, Fountain Cafe were looking from some corner. 
 

There wasn’t even one.

The new waiters were not even dressed like them.

Gambit Political Wise

Gambit Political Wise

 

Gambit meaning an act or remark that is calculated to gain an advantage, especially at the outset of a situation i.e; early election in Ceylon.

 

I have been advised by one of my professor friends to cry foul of the current administration’s militarily motivated hidden agenda.

 

In Sinhala it is turning the “Wasangathaya” into political sunshine or “Wasanthaya” of the bootleggers paradise.

 

In other words we are now a military administration remniscent of Myanmar where unknown number of 

 Muslims were killed or persecuted.

 

It is obvious Ceylonese Muslims who are not “Wahabis” are persecuted in the name of quarantine (it means erasing them from the political map).

 

A subtle human right violation.

 

In my opinion “Whahabis” are as bad or worse than LTTE.

 

In defense of LTTE (not their ground level action which even alienated moderate Tamils) it was a political uprising.

 

But “Whahabies” are religious crazies without scientific basis.

5 Mistakes People Make When Wearing Face Masks For Coronavirus

REPRODUCTION from HuffPost

5 Mistakes People Make When Wearing Face Masks For Coronavirus

Face masks have become part of the new normal uniform in America following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that people wear them in public. But simply wearing one doesn’t necessarily mean you’re protected ― or protecting anyone else.
Masks are meant to help prevent you from accidentally spreading or catching an infectious disease that, like COVID-19, is believed to primarily spread through respiratory droplets. Since 25% of people infected with the novel coronavirus may not be experiencing symptoms, according to an estimate from CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield, everyone is encouraged to wear masks to protect others while in public.

Improperly wearing a mask can increase your risk of COVID-19 contamination and infection. (Photo: pinkomelet via Getty Images)
“We know that there are people that are asymptomatic that could spread the virus before they have symptoms. I think we need to work under the concept that anyone you run into could potentially infect you,” said Thomas Russo, the chief of the infectious disease division at the University of Buffalo. “That is the ugly reality of this epidemic.”
To help stop the spread of COVID-19, you need to put on your mask the right way and avoid making these simple yet consequential mistakes:

MISTAKE 1: Your face mask only covers your mouth. 

If you are wearing your mask low so it only covers your mouth, you’re doing it wrong, and you risk becoming ill or making someone else ill.
“We often breathe partially or completely through our nose, and you can [become infected] by breathing viral particles,” Russo said. “Likewise, if you’re infected and your mask is down just covering your mouth, if you sneeze ... then you can generate respiratory droplets in that fashion.”
If your nose is not covered by the mask, you also risk contamination from the mask itself, which collects germs and droplets on its exterior.
“If the nostrils are peeking out above the mask and the external edge of the mask is rubbing against the nostrils, cross-contamination could occur from the mask to the nose,” said Lucy Wilson, the chair of the department of emergency health services at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

MISTAKE 2: Your mask comes in contact with your body or your stuff. 

Do not touch the front of your mask with your hands after using one, because the front of the mask could be contaminated. (Photo: stevanovicigor via Getty Images)
If the coronavirus gets on your clothes, face or body, and your loose mask touches those things, that’s a problem, too.
“Concern for improperly wearing a mask is based on the risk of contamination,” Wilson said. “If the inside of the mask touches another part of the body that is contaminated with the virus ― hair, forehead, chin, neck, hands, other clothing ― then the inside of the mask is returned to the nose and mouth area [where there are] vulnerable mucous membranes, infection can occur.”
And don’t leave it resting on your neck when not on your face.
“It’s better for the mask not to be around your neck if you’ve already been wearing it, because then if there was any type of contamination, you don’t want [to be] wearing that around your neck,” said Erin Sorrell, an assistant research professor in Georgetown University’s department of microbiology and immunology. “The whole purpose of the face mask is to protect your nose and mouth from your own coughs and sneezes and protecting others, or protecting you from large spills or large droplets.”
To properly put on and take off a mask, you also need to be careful not to touch the front of the mask when removing it, the CDC warns. Instead of touching the mask itself, remove the mask by holding the ear loops or ties. Once it’s off, you can put the face mask in a ziplock bag or separate containment area, Sorrell said. “The idea is then you’re preventing it from contaminating other surfaces and you’re not playing around with it as it hangs around your neck.”
Remember to wash your hands before and after you put a face mask on or take it off, medical experts advice.

MISTAKE 3: Your mask hangs too loosely on your face. 

When worn properly, N95 respirators that doctors use are closely fitted to the face. But if you are using a surgical mask or a homemade cloth mask, you may be letting the sides gap loosely.
You don’t want the mask to billow out this way. Sorrell said the goal is to create a barrier that blocks out as much air as possible. “You are not going to get a perfect seal with a surgical mask or with a homemade mask, but you want to make sure it fits properly,” Sorrell said. “It needs to be comfortable so that you’ll wear it, but secure enough that it doesn’t slide down.”
“With surgical masks, there tends to be a little bit of gap on the sides,” Russo said. “People need to do the best they can to tighten up that space with the straps.”
Russo also noted that beards can prevent masks from fitting closely, and recommended that people with them at least trim their beards close to their faces. “The bigger, the fluffier the beard is, the mask is going to lose its optimal functionality as well,” he said.

MISTAKE 4: Your face mask covers only the tip of your nose. 

It’s key to put your mask on the bridge of your nose, not at the end of it, so that you can create the best seal you can with the mask you have.
“If you [are covering] just the tip of your nose, that’s going to leave big air gaps on the top of your mask for air to be able to come in and out,” Sorrell said. “That’s why we recommend that the mask sits on the bridge of your nose and not the tip.”

MISTAKE 5: You don’t properly clean your mask if you reuse it.

If you’re planning to reuse your mask, you need to make sure it does not become one more contamination zone. The CDC says you can wash homemade fabric masks in a washing machine.
“I would wash them every day,” Sorrell said. “Then you’re at least making sure that your mask is clean on a daily basis.”
Medical experts have previously told HuffPost that disposable N95 masks can also be steamed over a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, but need to be dry before use.
Once a mask is visibly soiled or damaged, safely dispose of it.
Experts are still learning about the novel coronavirus. The information in this story is what was known or available as of press time, but it’s possible guidance around COVID-19 could change as scientists discover more about the virus. Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most updated recommendations.

Fire Storm Politics of Ceylon and Coronavirus

Fire Storm Politics of Ceylon and Coronavirus
   
Our politicians are not stupid but crafty in manipulations.

There is a Dhamma Pada verse that, where there is a man who is facing three mortalities (deaths) hanging (Hanging on to Power) on a faulty rope (slipping) gleefully sipping (sipping Power) honey drops.

Rajapaksa Clan epitomizes (with their clan of “Mahavada Monks”) the greed of the man hanging on to a rope and sipping honey (power).

They are pressuring the Election Commissioner and the Commission for early election which is a damn stupid IDEA.

1. Number one the coronavirus is under reported.

Just to hoodwink the masses blindfolded “that we are better than South Korea”.

2. Number two is the number of tests done are hopelessly inadequate.

3. Number three is this epidemic lasts more than a year and may be two to three years.

4. We are unable to practice what South Korea did in a short time (including temperature checking at the polling station)

5. This parliament was dissolved for political reasons and it could have gone well beyond 2020.

6. Neither President (by statute of the constitution)) nor Lame Duck Prime Minister (he has no say at all) can influence the decision making process.

7. “Deal Dasa’ is giving statutorily wrong interpretations.

8. The compromise is to context the decision making process in courts of law by the Election Commission. 

That would drag the election well beyond September.

In other word holding election is not life and death scenario.

9. lot of people including me (by default) will boycott the election by fear of Coronavirus.

10. It is playing politics with fire and life of the poor Punchi Sinho, the voter.

11. I hope the election commissioner would be mindful.

When the second wave of infection rampages the country, he will be used as the scapegoat by the winning party (never by a big margin).

12. Nobody should be given 2/3rd majority.

13. Working majority is the best to revitalize democracy.

14. Monks should be asked to stay (in other words quarantined fully) in temples and not to politicize Dhamma bringing Muslim and Tamil Hate factor (No Metta in their practice) to surface.

15. Beware Rajapaksa politics. 

They are wild tricksters.

Chetiya Rajuruvo (King) reborn.

King of Kossole outdone by a big margin.

PUBLIC Toilet Seat in Ceylon and Japan

PUBLIC Toilet Seat in Ceylon and Japan 

Less I talk about Ceylon is better for my sanity.

Coronavirus and home incarceration was a blessing in disguise for all of us.

Remember Coronavirus has an EARLY ENTERIC PHASE.

What 3 years of sitting on Japanese toilets taught me

Jay Wong | Conditions | April 19, 2020

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The first time I stepped foot in Japan was the summer of 2014. I was a wide-eyed, overzealous sophomore at Yale, all packed and ready to embark on a 2-month journey to Tokyo for a Japanese study abroad program that I only enrolled in so that my language proficiency would be tolerable enough to get my college crush at the time, who is of Japanese descent, to like me.
Pathetic, I know.
Little did I understand at the time that the initial kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach at the mere prospect of stepping foot onto what seemed like a totally different planet would quickly and eventually be replaced with a rather humbling three years of international scholarly pursuit in Japan that taught me everything from attitudes and perceptions of the pervasive native/foreigner dichotomy in the cultural consciousness of Japanese society to how to properly position your shoes upon immediately entering someone’s home in order to show the utmost respect and politeness. All of these experiences were unfamiliar, new, and surprisingly…refreshing.
But perhaps the most valuable lesson I came to appreciate at the end of this dynamic journey was spawned from one of the most unconventional of places and most atypical of objects: a bathroom and … a toilet.
Yes, a toilet.

You see, in Japan, you can go to the most squalid of neighborhoods and enter the shabby stalls of a dilapidated bathroom and be hard-pressed to find a toilet seat with noxious urine or post-micturition stains on it. You would be even more hard-pressed to find an unflushed toilet bowl filled with a conglomeration of happily resting human excrement, teepeed seat covers that would put your average adolescent Halloween shenanigans to shame, or a sad, empty roll of toilet paper that would leave the next unlucky fellow trapped with mortifying desperation.
Conversely, in the U.S., you can go to the most opulent of venues and still find a toilet stall that would send convulsive shivers down your spine and cause you to want to regurgitate the last meal you ate. And if you are lucky enough not to, it is almost always the work of diligent custodial staff and not conscientious patrons.

Now I know what you are probably thinking: “there will always be a gross toilet no matter where you go. It’s unavoidable. That’s just life.”
To that, I say, “No. That’s culture.”
And when I say “culture” I do not just mean those feel-good manners and etiquette in the form of all that artificial, ostentatious tripe meant to perpetuate modern-day classism via socially constructed ideas around what is considered “sophisticated,” “elegant,” or “proper,” like placing the napkin in your lap within the first minute of sitting down for a meal or scooping soup away from you instead of towards you to appear more “refined” and “classy.”

What I am talking about is something that goes much deeper, yet is much simpler and does not require a whole bunch of flashy niceties aimed at social signaling and getting others to better appraise your perceived social worth and background. And that is a concern for the collective good of others as a personal reflection of yourself.
This means not only having a profound understanding of how our current actions and behaviors will negatively impact or trouble others down the pipeline, but also having what I call the “empathic responsibility” to actually do something about it. It is about expanding the scope of who we care about affecting (and burdening) with our actions (i.e., externalizing and cultivating our sense of interest in those beyond us), establishing and maintaining a steady stream of that regard for collective well-being no matter where we are, and adopting an attitude of self-valuation that hinges upon the integrity we carry within ourselves to socially behave in ways that do not inconvenience or disrupt others, even if it means putting in that extra effort of wiping down the seat that you just soiled, flushing a neglected but not defunct toilet bowl, or replacing an empty toilet paper roll. It is my personal belief that tiny acts of social integrity like these that contribute to a communal good can have profound consequences on a culture that has perhaps strayed too far in the direction of the individual to the detriment of the spirit of the collective welfare.
One of the many reasons I believe we have seen such flagrant non-compliance with stay-at-home orders for physical distancing and non-essential travel is that we have not fostered this deeply profound and externalized concern for those outside of ourselves.

Recently, I heard someone say, “I’m not afraid. If I get it, I get it. I’m not gonna let this pandemic get in the way of me having fun. Besides, I’m young, and I’m healthy.”
Well, that’s good for you. But what about everyone else down the line that could be affected if you become a COVID fomite or an asymptomatic vector infecting those who may not have the privilege of adequate health to survive?
Similarly, I have heard comparable sentiments expressed on the topic of face masks. “I don’t feel like I’m in any danger, and I’m not afraid of catching it. So I don’t feel like I need to wear a mask.”
Again, that’s good for you. But can we take a pause for a moment and consider the collective instead of you? Why must it always be about you? Why must you be at the center of everything?
It is precisely this distinction, this core value, which is baked into Japanese society, and is indispensable to the informal curriculum taught to children from an early age that has, in my opinion, contributed in a notable way to the success of Japan’s current management of COVID-19, and what makes unflushed, putrefying toilets there so anathema and exploded toilet paper bombs in bathroom stalls so unconscionable.
We need a cultural shift in our country to re-center our values so that they are not so off-kilter to the point of disproportionately favoring American ideals of individualism at the grave expense of the collective common good.
Personally, if I had to choose, I would go for a clean toilet stall over a drop or two of soup on top of an uncovered lap from a spoon scooped towards me any day. What about you?
Jay Wong is a medical student.

My Lockdown on blogging

My Lockdown on blogging

Dear Friends,

How are you doing with lockdown (I call it shutdown, computer terminology) in ? Wherever you are, US, China, Canada or Ceylon?

It may be a treat for you to avoid US, China, Canada or Ceylon traffic (I forget most of the landmarks of the world, now)!

? Your better half must be busy replanting ? is it daffodil or is it looking after grand children?

With rain coming I will have a break, let my rooftop garden go wild.

It is only 20 by 30 feet has 5 types of lilies and 25 water plants and many banzai plants.

Mind you the 20 odd palm trees I planted only three survived and are very tall now.

I have some seeds too.

Mind you I do not watch cricket or play hockey.

I keep my one and my  daughter’s hockey sticks as souvenirs.

I lost my billiard sticks and ques.

Somebody had used them as firewood, I believe in my absence abroad. 

You may not be hearing or getting my rants from now onwards.

I am getting bit lazy and lot of typos and grammatical mistakes.

I do not want to kill the queen’s language.

Besides satire has no place in this country.

By the way, keep me posted of life and things dear to heart.

List of Medical Stuff one Needs in an Emergency

List of Medical Stuff one Needs in an Emergency

Things are not good as it is, and I wake up exactly 8 hours after a good sleep without bad dreams.

Nothing else to do, this is a way to ease my pent up anger of incarceration.

No anxiety at all!

But I must thank late Professor Senake Bibile, who was probably assassinated by CIA cohorts and Drug conglomerate of America.

This is dedicated to him.

Having said that, I have met bizarre medical personnel in Ceylon, UK and New Zealand where I have worked for considerable length of time and finally settle downed as a teacher and a research pathologist.

I used to say, I can run any hospital with minimum of facilities and of course, I did not have many when I was managing a D.M.O station with Cholera epidemic in this country.

My memory is failing and I start with a incident in a private nursing home in Negambo.

I had an 84 four year old male admitted to this nursing hospital for last rights by his relations.

I had a good technician who was a navel officer with whom I worked during 1989 in Digana village (IMMI) where the 15 or bodies and body parts scattered DJV guys/ girls dumped by our army, then active.

I did have a camera (as a pathologist I photograph some cases for posterity) but never ventured into hysterical photo record but the local journalists took some photographs and they were the first to appear in daily papers.

I told my private technician (he was not employed to save money) to make a blood film (I generally have a look at them after my clinical rounds) and look at it in detail.

He came running to me to report malaria and I told him not a surprise he had hepatosplenomegaly.

My in depth examination revealed even malaria gametes.

Caveat was he had appendicitis in addition.

 

I went and told the owner of the the institution for approval of intravenous chloroquine which I had to purchase from a local pharmacy.

We did not keep a stock and it has cardiac-suppressant effects.

With a ECG monitor standing by, I infused first the antibiotics (we have decided not to operate him immediately) and then the chloroquine slowly.

To my surprise he woke up from his slumber (he had thought he is going to die) and I asked him what he wants me to do.

He said he wish to go home immediately (to write his will or something to that effect).

I said nothing doing for 3 weeks (good for our hospital account) and I will tell him when.

Then I told him his kith and kin wished him dead already and not to trust them when they visit him.

furthermore, pretend you are in deep sleep (coma to be precise) and listen to them to confirm my above affirmations.

Malaria gone and primaquine (double dose) given to prevent relapse, he was by tenth day full of spirit and his ruptured appendix was forming into an abscess walled off (fat guy with lot of omental fat to ward of septicaemia) by the antibiotic treatment.

If my memory was right I gave a single dose of chloramphenicol which was followed by Rocephin IV.

On a similar note on malaria I diagnosed a malaria case in New Zealand clinically and asked the chief technician blood (malaria) film.

He said no malaria in New Zealand (I did not tell him the patient is a visitor from Malaysia).

I took a bet for a large chocolate slab and won it but we shared the spoils in good spirit.

He was the best technician I have ever worked with in my life.

In a similar case a patient was brought in moribund state (after writing his will) with a rollicking double pneumonia.

We treated him with Rocephin and he started recovering but my basal tests included Serum typhoid antibody titre.

He had typhoid too (confirmed) and Rocehin was enough to cure both pneumonia and typhoid.

I am not sure typhoid causes pneuminia.

He had two doses of chloramphenicol IV.

Mind you chloramphenicol is now banned in Ceylon.

 

In a lighter note all my engineer friends (only one girl) who did the Mahaweli Project including surveying came to me within 9 to 12 months with malaria.

The symptoms were variable (like Dengue) in addition to fever (by the way, not typical of malaria in textbooks).

I had eight Cesarean babies dying in my first month of internship.

We did not have a bacteriology unit and sent all blood and stool sample to Colombo confirmed typhoid epidemic in the hospital.

Thankfully midwife feeding the babies was a typhoid carrier, including few other nurses.

 

Closed the Unit and send the acting consultant guy back to base in Colombo.

I reported to the DHS that he was not in base on duty and was recuperating in Colombo.

MS was also transferred.

These were the times when Public Service Commission had teeth without political intervention.

Coming to my list.

My List

1. Saline and Dextrose saline

2. Blood.

3. Hyperimmune serum

4. Morphine

5. Frusemde and simple oral diuretics

6. Oxygen cylinder with mask to make 20-30% oxygen saturation.

7. Prednisolone

8. Isoprenaline with ventolin nebulizer

9. Insulin preferably with an insulin pump

10. Thyroxin

11. ECG

12. X-Ray

13. Emergency Blood film (malaria, ureamia, liver failure, anaemia, leukaemia and even metastatic cancer)

14. Blood sample for basic investigations virology not included.

15. Blood Pressure apparatus and appropriate treatment.

16 to 20 is optional depending on the initial cues.

That include, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and now Coronavirus testing kit.